Twiddle comforters donated to Spire Portsmouth by a star knitter
06 April 2022
At Spire Portsmouth, we recently reviewed the resources we had available for patients being admitted to us for surgery who were living with dementia.
Gill Rankin, Clinical Educator explains: "Although we had a number of resources in place, we realised that we did not have any ‘twiddle muffs or twiddle comforters’ left. They had all been previously used by patients and were single use only."
Twiddle muffs or comforters are knitted or crocheted with sensory items attached. They keep restless hands busy and provide calming sensory stimulation for patients living with the advanced stages of dementia. We've found they are invaluable to our patients during their hospital stay
We put out a ‘call for knitters’ and the Spire Portsmouth Oncology Department stepped forward with a previous patient of theirs. Wendy Hayes, who had a reputation for being a fantastic knitter, volunteered to help. She did an amazing job and made a variety of ‘twiddlers’ in a whole variety of designs - which are going to be a great benefit to our dementia patients.
Wendy has taken up a lot of charity fund raising since her treatment at Spire Portsmouth Hospital. March was Ovarian Cancer Awareness month and to mark this Wendy is raising funds for Ovacome. She walked a marathon over each week in March (26.2 miles per week)!
Visit Wendy's ovacome fundraising page to find out more and donate and support her efforts.